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Crude prices edge up

25 December 2017 18:03 (UTC+04:00)
Crude prices edge up

By Sara Israfilbayova

World prices for “black gold” of reference marks rose following the results of electronic trading on the London and New York stock exchanges.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $58.47 a barrel, up 0.19 percent, while Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $65.25 a barrel, up 0.54 percent, Rosbalt reported.

The experts believe that oil exporting countries will continue to maintain market stability in the coming year by limiting production, despite the desire of some participants to quickly get it over with. Experts expect that oil price in 2018 will remain above $60 per barrel, and in periods of volatility can reach up to $70.

The head of the Ministry of Finance of Russia Anton Siluanov said that the department expects that oil prices in 2018 will be at current levels.

Meanwhile, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the department expects that oil prices in 2018 will be at current levels.

Baker Hughes reported that the number of operating oil drilling rigs in the U.S. over the past week has not changed and stood at the level of 747 units.

This week, data on oil and petroleum products in the U.S. will come late for one day - on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Last week, the official view of the U.S. Energy Department confirmed the decline in black gold reserves by 6.5 million barrels, while gasoline and distillate stocks increased at the same time. There is a possibility that fresh statistics will be more encouraging, a decrease in oil reserves will slow down and will be at the level of 1-2 million barrels.

In December 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce oil output by 558,000 barrels per day, including Russia by 300,000 barrels per day, starting from January 1, 2017 for six months, extendable for another six months.

OPEC and its allies reached an agreement on prolongation of the deal until the end of 2018 on November 30 in Vienna.

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